12 Months of Insanity
by ronlover93
Summary: Suze and her childhood companion, Nathan, are figure skaters since they were five. Everything was normal till they finally performed in a gala and Suze met this totally hot guy and everything started to jumble up in her world. What's the big secret here?
1. January

**A/N** This piece has nothing to do with the title whatsoever. At least I don't think so. It was sort of the first thing that bounced into my mind. It's been a long time since I've posted a new story. I got inspiration for this one from my cousin sister, Gabrielle, so plenty thanks to her. Oh, and in this one, I made Kelly kind of a nice person just because I'm basing her character off my best friend Kelly.

One more thing. Those of you who read my "A Part of Us" about Dramione, it's continuing. I know it's been a long time and the past readers have definitely already given up on it, but if you haven't read it yet, please do. It's only until a very short of chapter five but I do hope you'll check it out whenever you feel like it.

Well, enjoy reading...

**Disclaimer** Haven't been writing this for a while now. So, you know, the usual stuff...too bad I don't own Jesse/Hector de Silva...would loved to but don't. And Susannah Simon plus all the other character familiar to your eyes. I think that's about it.

Have a Nice 'Trip'!

_'Hey, you've reach Suze & Nate. We're not here right now so you know what to do after the beep...-_beep- the answering machine went off immediately on my bedside table. This is the time of the day that I hate most : waking up on a Monday. I'm really not the early-bird-catches-the-worm type of girl. I'm the what's-wrong-with-staying-in-bed-for-a-few-more-minutes-if-there's-no-rush-or-even-when-there-_is_-rush that type. Yeah, sort of like that. You get the picture.

'Suze, it's time to wake up!' a feminine voice could be heard through the speaker. I groaned and flipped over my king-size bed, settling down into a new position. I really didn't want to wake up today. Well, at least that's what's happening everyday. It's not that I don't like my life. It's just that I slept really late last night since I have rehearsals with Nate for the upcoming Ice Gala in February throughout the whole January. It started last Monday. The rehearsals I mean. But we missed the first three days due to the Four Continent in Brazil (an international skating competition) and we had extra practice with the three coaches there (Margaret, Francis & Cassandra) till very late.

'Su_ze_...wake _up_ already.' the rough voice said again.

'But...argh, just five more minutes!' I responded sleepily and pulled the sheets above my head and covered my ears, attempting to shut out her maximize voice. This is really unfair. How does she get up so early everyday when she, too, had to stay up late and make sure that everyone did their job properly? Just as late or maybe later than us too? But I guess that's _her_ job.

'No. We have lots to do today. And my machine's time's running out in ten seconds. Do you want me to get Dole?' but this is no fair. That's blackmail! The only people I'm afraid of dealing with in hard times like these are my dad, _step_dad, Jake, Nate and, most of all, Dole. Just because he can really annoy the hell out of you. There was once he babbled into the machine for what seemed to be centuries (45 minutes actually) none stop and I can't even close my eyes for another second.

'Okay, okay. I'm up.' I flipped away the sheets and pressed loud speaker on the phone while getting off the bed. Going into the bathroom which is like ten feet away, I squished out some toothpaste from the tube onto the toothbrush and started brushing my teeth.

'First off, we'll go to your school. After the fumble bumble there, we'll meet your new coach in Riverbay (a studio not far away from the school). Then there'll be the two fitting sessions in _Fever on Ice_. Gabbana is looking forward to see you there. After all the fuss uptown, y'all would be heading downtown for rehearsals at about, say,

eight-thirty after dinner. We'll be there in ten. That's about all. Bye...'

'Later...' I said while I washed the facial foam off my face. The call ended with a beep. I took out a piece of cotton from the small plastic holder and dropped some liquid toner on it. After applying it on my whole face, I got onto the eye moisturizer to lessen to black ring below my eyes.

I walked out into the attached 3 meter walk-in wardrobe and took out my favorite practice gear and put it on. Noises could already be heard from next door. Nate's bathroom was only next to the wardrobe so louder noises made could be heard slightly.

After I brushed my hair, I took my cellphone and stuffed it into my sweater pocket. Closing the door behind me, I went to knock on Nate's door not far away from mine. 'I'm ready. Going down now, okay?' and I left without waiting for a respond. It's just to let him know that he should be coming down soon.

I rushed down the stairs and went straight into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I took out a carton of milk and poured out a little of it's content in a glass from the cupboard. I gulped it down quickly and placed the carton back into the fridge. Before closing the fridge, I grabbed a piece of ham, wrapping it in a lettuce and gobbled it down.

A horn sounded loudly from outside the house. I looked out the kitchen window, that gave a perfect view of the front gate, even when I knew who was there. A black MVP came into view. It was still a little dark but I could still see from this distance. Didn't I tell them not to horn in the early morning? I _so_ would get a warning letter from the police or something any day soon.

'Nate? Nathan!' I yelled up the stairs after I walked out of the kitchen. 'Time to go!'

'Coming!' and sure enough, a moment later, rushy footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Grabbing my black & white Transpack Bag, I threw it onto my thin shoulder and opened the door at the end of the hallway.

'What took you so long...? Do you want to be late for our very first day?!' we—Nate and I—just transfered to this Rennet Academy very far away from the States. The applications we sent in were accepted immediately with the principal's personal visit of taking us the letter.

Well, that isn't all very surprising. Considering that we are the Best Pairing of the Year for twelves in a roll and had won five years in a row at the World Junior Championships in our solos. Besides that, we've got quite an amount of qualifications as pairs in the public too.

We had been taking ballet plus skating lessons together since the age of five and really have a brilliant collaboration that no one could deny.

I got into the black MVP with tinted windows and Nate came right after me. We always have the six back seats to ourselves: me in front; Nate at the back row. I sat down with a loud thump I zipped my hooded long-sleeve zip-through with contrast colored hood-lining, covering my dark blue sporty tank plus matching double skirts, and started pulling up my my webbed black color stirrup-over-the-boot tights. After that, I pulled my waist-length black curls, colored with a little natural violet highlight, to a sideway ponytail and straighten my fringe. Pulling out my cosm-case, I apply a little lip gloss and some light-shaded blue eye-shadow.

This college we're attending has a famous reputation of it's skaters. Anything on the ice, count them in to be one of the best in the California.

Our manager, Penny, whose our moms' friend for like what? Ages? Had just turned 42 last Tuesday. Which was also when we won the Four Continent. Walking up the cement slope towards the school, others looked at us with our heavy bags and our endless garment bags hung on the portable clothes-hanger, which was about the length of Eiffel Tower placed horizontally. Just kidding. But sort of like that.

We're staying in the dormitory that the school provided as each student is required to stay there as a convenient for their studies.

'First off, we have to get your stuff into your dorm rooms. Then we'll have to get hold of your principle.' Penny said to us whilst looking at the planner covered in her sloppy handwriting and was full of Stickies plus Post-its sticking out of it in her hand which she consider as 'The Bible'.

She walked behind us as Scott, Penny's assistant that takes care of everything from our blade maintenance to our form entries to competitions which is just as important in another way, slowly pushed the garment bags up the easy slope. Scott is just as important to us as Penny is. We'll be nowhere without them.

'Isn't more like us than we?' Nate said in a teasing tone. He always like to tease Penny for no apparent reason. It's like one day without teasing her, he would die of boredom or something.

'You have to become one with your manager or you'll go nowhere near the gold stuff, ya get me young man?' she said knowingly. I nudge Nate's stomach with my elbow.

'Look...' there are a crowd around the arena whispering loudly. This is the competition rink and not the practice arena. It was only lined simply with glass windows. If you're prepared to sell your moves to your opponents, this is the perfect spot that you'll be practicing.

There are five ladies, probably a couple of years older than me (which makes them at Nathan's age), in the rink showing off their jumps which was apparently not that good for our international-level skating. They won't even be able to get pas preliminary. Let alone win in the competition.

But I have to admit, their five sets of different routine that their trying to perfect looks kindda familiar. As if reading my mind, 'Suze, don't you think that looks kindda familiar? I think you've done it before.' there where so many routines we've done, used or not used, since our first competition at the age of ten. The first routine we've ever been taught was when we were six. Until now, we've perhaps performed more than thousands of routines. Let alone practice.

'You placed with it at 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 U.S. Junior Ladies' Championships.' Scott answered. Did I mention that he is also our choreographer? Normally, skaters only have one most important person in their unpredictably shaky career of pro-skating. And that is their coach.

But for me and Nathan, we have Stephanie Knightly A.K.A. Penny (the manager : scheduling the whole jumble of competitions lessons, searching for annoyingly annoying suppliers and impressing the un-impressable press), Scott Darwin (Assistant-of-Everything/our supreme choreographer : sometimes he also is our deep-down-personal consultant), Samantha Norman & Mack Danielle (designer hairstylist make-up-list attire-checkers : fuss around about how we just _have_ to look drop-dead-gorgeous), Dole Jackson (The famous 'DJ'-on-ice : has everything to do with anything about our fantastic music pieces), Jason Jerkins A.K.A. JJ the Jerk—only when we're kidding around—(nutrient-gist vitamin-gist fitness coach : responsible of panicking over how camera-and-newspaper-covers-friendly we are) and last but not least, each other (skate-partners best of friends classmates house-mates oh, and did I mention? Skating partners of whom we could not participate in a single doubles' competition if lack thereof).

So, you see, it's everyone and _anyone_ but the coach. We change from coaches to coaches wherever we go. Same with this case. After finishing my three-year-diploma in advancement of sociology, I'm through with this coach that I'm just about to get. However awesome they can get, their not keepers. Never. Not that it's their fault that their just not the right one that we want to be stuck with the rest of our pro-skating career, but it's just we sometimes, we can't stand the style they convey their coaching.

Just after that thought of mine, one of the girl failed to nail the butterfly spin right after the triple-Lutzes and spin off her balance limit, landing hard on her bottom. I felt so insulted, watching a few amateurs showing off their far-from-perfected routines. Which just happen to be _mine_.

'Suze, chill...you can't expect everyone to be as perfect as you are.' Nate said in a low voice, knowing the perfection-freak me all too well to see what's coming.

'Oh no. Not this time.' I said, glaring at the girl that was being helped up by the other four girls that had 'ran' to her side right after she fell.

I walked there, one hand clasping the strap of my bag and the other in my at the edge of my hip with the get-the-hell-out-of-my-way-or-I'll-shove-your-head-up-your-ass expression plastered on my face. I slowly walked down the stairs in between the rolls of seats with Nate, Penny and Scott (who left the garment bags completely unattended) hurrying down behind me, afraid that I would do something unwise.

This is, afterall, quite a closed region deep (not exactly, considering that it's so open to the ocean) in California and you certainly can't expect anyone to know me here. Nate came over and took my bag from me after passing his to Penny, who is close behind him, and I let him take it. He's known me since the day I was born and certainly know what I'm about to do right now. Scott was already making his way to the radio-system.

I was a little of three steps away from the last fleet of stairs and just two panels away from the entrance when I unzipped my hooded long-sleeve, throwing it back where Penny caught it just in time.

I found an empty space on the bench right in front of the entrance where it is normally reserved for the skater's coach. Which was quite empty but was just left that way out of the habit that goes way back in the history of skating competitions. I sat down, reaching out and grabbed the skates Nate was handing over to me as he stood beside where I sat. People started looking this way as Nate's height was blocking the view of the people in the back rows. The five skaters in the rink was too busy examining whether the skater that fell just now was hurt in any way. They were closed to the entrance.

Two students that sat a little further off the same bench noticed that I was putting on my skates and came over to see what was happening. Penny stood in their way immediately.

I waved to dismiss Penny's attempt of stopping the two students that seem the same age as I am without even looking up. Nate has already finish with the skate-lace of my other skate. I stood up and walked naturally towards the entrance of the rink, which was just enough for two to slip in hand-in-hand as the students approached me. The guy was way taller than me, but was still a little shorter than Nate, and the girl, who was a little shorter than me, stood in my way as I straighten my sleeveless sporty tank. That was the first time that I looked at them since they started walking towards our direction.

'The rink is closed to outsiders. Do you have a skater's pass?' the girl in blonde spoke in a squeaky voice. Squeaky, but nonetheless, it was the kind that most guys would consider angelic and cute. I just don't get what it is with all the hot guys with their something of the squeaky sort of voice. Personally. I think it's a disgrace that girls even speak that way.

So not my style.

Even if my voice is not the kind of tom-boyish deep and it was very much like a girly girl's, it came way smoother than hers did. Besides, her overly powdered face, eyes lined thick with the black eyeliner, her hair swirling at the end of her ponytail a little too obvious that maybe more than a can of hairspray was used to make it stay that way. Whereas my hair is 100 natural curl and wavy. Not that I'm boasting. I'm just saying that you're hair looks it's best when it is in it's most natural form. Even sometimes when you wake up in the morning, finding your hair sticking out at one end in a very ridiculous way, bare with it. It smoothen over the Sun shortly after your shower. If you even take one in the morning.

'I will be having one soon enough.' I answered, annoyed by the held-back.

'Whatever...that's what they all say...' she answered, a streak of dislike flickering through her fake blueish eyes. As in she wore colored contact lens, not literally as in her eyes are fake or something. Besides her features presented in a way too excessive to my liking, she was also overly dressed. Sleeveless black denim jacket, black tube-top, a black and white striped denim mini-skirt at the length right at the edge of her butt, fishnet black tights and skates decorated with rhinestones shining a little too brightly. My only comment is that this girl here, has a very excessive taste in her dressings.

'Outta my way.' I said coldly with no expression. Penny stood at the side, dialing into her cellphone intensely as she lean against the railing. Nate was clearing up my shoes and zipping up my Transpack bag. He really is a very good guy. Whoever gets him as her boyfriend can actually be considered as the most luckiest girl ever found in the whole universe.

'Oh, puh-_leeze _don't give me that tone.' she answered back immediately with a hint of mocking coldness.

'FYI...there are only twenty skaters in this school, of course including us both, that has access to this rink. And I know that you're definitely not one of them...' the guy beside her said with a smirk. My fists were shaking due to the urge of mine, wanting to wipe that irritating smirk off his face that is not even close to cool as he thought it was. Let alone hot.

'Oh yeah?' Nate said, backing me up.

'Yeah...' he said immediately without hesitation as he noticed Nate for the first time. The moment the blonde barbie laid eyes on Nate, I just knew the look on her face so obviously showing the what-the-hell-is-a-guy-like-that-doing-with-her?! annoyance with an eyebrow raised, checking Nate out. Well, who wouldn't be. But it just so happens that we are merely at the stage of best friends and brother-sisterly relationship and nothing more than that.

'We'll see about that...' Nate responded coolly, which I think would have cause blondie here drooling down his knees if it was not because of the public-al stares around us. I zoomed pass them, used to balancing myself on my soakers, as they were distracted by Nate.

As I neared the entrance, I kicked off my soakers out of habit and left them lying on the floor. Without pausing, I slipped right through the railing into the rink and started with my normal two-circles around the rink as a warm-up session just to catch up with the climax change and get my skates use to the ice. It had already become an undying habit of mine and Nate's to do that everytime before we start training.

I skated passed them where they stood a few feet away from the entrance, going clockwise, stealing their undivided attention on the fallen skater. Argh...it was just a fall. What's the big deal? What's skating if you don't fall over once or twice every once in a while?! My God. Don't even go out there telling people you're skaters as it would greatly affect their impression as to what skating really is.

They looked at the stranger : me, with o-shaped mouths and wide brown eyes as I skated pass them, inches away from where their skates rested on the ice, picking up speed. While I passed the five ladies, still fussing over the fallen one for the past ten minutes, in my second circle before I start my routine, I said to them softly, 'If you're gonna do it, at least nail it before you skate it out to audience-eyes.'

'Eight verse. Five beats.' I said in a voice louder than my usual tone for Scott's hearing as I completed the two circle at the other side of the entrance. In less than five seconds, Britney Spears' "Toxic" could be heard roaring through the entire stadium. Zooming into the center, I anchored myself at my starting position.

'Hey! Get back here!' the blondie's voice could be hear from across the entrance as she entered the rink. The first beat of the song was marked with my opened hand-swirl and I started the routine that the five skaters was so very familiar with seeing that they spent time watching the video to practice every move of it.

My hands and legs worked itself through the opening of the routine, skating to and fro with the blondie behind me, trying to catch up with my incredible speed. It's really not that I'm boasting, but just after my opening toe loops carving a zick-zack on the ice with the tip of my blades, she was already out of breath.

But it might not be my speed. It might just be her skating muscles that is to be blamed. Or the lack thereof. I did the pointer with my hand as if pulling a trigger, aiming at the ay where the judges was suppose to sit in front of me, as I winked with a wide grin. I just love the icy breeze skating across my cheeks and arms.

After a salchow and an axel thrown in order of the routine, it was almost till the peak of my performance : the triple-Lutzes and butterfly spin solid link. That was what I called it. Just because I really have to land solid on the peak of my blade, ending in a back spin and mark the of it with a half loop, with my hands in a position of a 90 degrees curtsy.

I heard gasping as I completed my final move in a fraction of a second flawlessly. Right after my ending position facing the judges, the blondie finally caught up with me, clasping my arm for support more than to prevent me from leaving, pulling me together in a wobbly swirl that I have quickly balanced myself. Managing to release my arm from her tight grip, I skated out of the rink and landed on my right foot without a pause and continued walking as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Stepping into my soakers that either Nate or Penny had put out in an arranged manner, I took my bags from the bench and walked on as Nate hurried to my side, putting my hooded long-sleeve on me. Then he continued walking beside me, after having completely caught up with my pace in no time.

'Have a nice 'trip'!' I called out with an extended arm to waved goodbye. Soon after, a loud crash was heard followed by a sharp cry that suited a boar better than it suited the blondie while I passed the side of the rink where the five ladies were still standing there, eying me shocked-face-ly through the window as if I've just done the most impossible thing in the world that anyone could imagine.

Right at that moment, I finally allowed myself a satisfied smile of success that I have been suppressing from the second I exit the rink.

**A/N** How was it? Personally, I really liked it as it is, by far, my longest chapter written. I know that not a lot had happened in this 'month' but still, it was just an opening. Do tell me if I made Suze's character to appear as a little stuck-up and kind of a show-off. So please. Review before you exit the page to carry on looking for some other fanfics to amuse yourself with.

Oh, and just so you know, soakers are the plastic thing that they use to cover the blades with when it's not on ice.


	2. February

**A/N** I wrote this chapter while I was sitting in the car, going to Johor Bahru accompanying my father on his buisness trip. Well, this chapter can be considered kindda important because this is where the change happens. 

**Disclaimer** I don't own the plot/character/book or anything in this matter that was bestseller in New York (I'm not sure if that is where it was published, correct me if I'm wrong). My thinking box is way smaller than that of Meg Cabot's to cook up such an interesting series. I mean, common'. Is my writing even a quarter as good as hers? Not even close. So, all I'm saying is : don't sue me. 

He is _so_ my type. (Normal POV)

'They're good, aren't they?' Francis said as she watched the two skating in the rink, synchronized with the rhythm and completely absorbed in their unknown little world of skating. They brought forth the entire element of ice dancing to a whole new level higher than anyone had ever manage to achieve. 

Every little movement was presented in such elegant ways that every individual laying eyes on their performance would have their breath taken away. Margaret and Cassandra were all too attracted to their figures to answer. But it was meant to go unanswered of since it was more of a statement than a question. 

The trio watched from outside the rink, standing close to the railing separating the ice from the audience. The last beat of the piece was ended with a perfect toe loop after a _low split twist_ going no higher than the male skater's head. Which was very hard to nail as the _split twist_ was meant to be performed in higher air space. They had performed the dance lift in such a position that it was made easy of the lift but required a lot of practice and collaboration between the two skaters.

As the piece ended, the three trainers immediately put their hands together with assuring looks as Susannah and Nate skated towards them after the three second bow. 

'You nailed it. Suze, your bracket turn was perfect compare to yesterday's.' Cassandra said with her heavy French accent. The Ice Gala is a day after tomorrow and they better had improve from before or they won't make a hit that night. 

'Oh, and did I mention that you'll be introduced to the sponsor's grandson that night? This performance will determine their decision of the agreed contract. If you lost it that night, you'll not get your ticket to ISI's Texas Heat.' Penny said as she walked over, handing Susannah and Nathan both a bottle of Mountain Dew. 

Texas Heat (**A/N** I made this up, it doesn't exist. But the ISI-Ice Skating Institute is a real organization) is a yearly competition held in Texas that Susannah and Nate had been participating in it for more than five years and had been a crowd's favorite in Texas. 

'Yeah, you've been on it for weeks since Georgia de Silva received the invitation to the gala.' Nate said after a few gulps of water. The gala was actually a charity auction of jewelries and beautiful dresses that involves skating in one way or another. The money would go to the assisting fund of homeless families in South Africa that was launched since the beginning of the year. 

'Gabbana called earlier just now when you were having your dinner. After your final fitting last week, she had finished with your costumes and is rather please with her work. It will arrive from New York tomorrow morning.' Penny said as Asame Ruuru, a reigning Japanese champion, neared Susannah for a chat. 

'Suze,' Asame said in the feminine Japanese accent that sounded really nice, Susannah loved it and had secretly admire it since their first meeting in WISA Vera Vandecaveye Camp 2003, 'Look at that guy over there.' she pointed secretively as she whispered loud enough for all of us there to hear her. I turned to the direction she was pointing at and sure enough, there was a black figure there, observing them closely. 

'Sammy, I can't even see his face.' Susannah said as she turned her head in every possible angle to catch a glimpse of the muscular figure in the shadows. 'It's too dark. How did you even notice him anyways?' Sammy was a short-name that Susannah given her four years ago. 

'As it was very bright at my side of the rink, and the rays from the spotlight gave a darker shadow there. So I figured there was someone there. Remember just now when there was a flash of light around the stadium as planned for your entrance? I saw—' she started babbling immediately.

'Remind me again why do I even care to have asked in the first place?' Susannah said as she rolled her eyes while looking at Nate. Everytime Asame started with guys, she can never stop herself. At least not for the coming twenty minutes. 

'Well, you should have known better. We'll see if Annie's alright with her Lutzes.' Margaret said as Asame's continuous babble rang in Susannah's ears non-stop. The three trainers took leave as they clearly saw that this is never-ending. They didn't bother to even ask if the guy was a preying rival from another academy because anyone that is in this stadium right now would need a pass strictly from the gala authorities so as to not make a mess in the decorations. 

As they talked, the person in question took leave quietly at his nearest exit and disappeared from view. The moment he turned around, a bright light shone due to the reflection of the spotlights causing Susannah to blink for a few seconds. She had a hard feeling it was a stud, deep blue in color. Just one. 

(Susannah's POV)

I watched the M.C. talk their way through the whole auction as I sat there, at the skater's table, reading _A Treatise on Skating_ by Robert Jones, the first known account of skating. 

All the guest sat under the canopy, set up just for this occasion yesterday afternoon, bidding for the auction dresses or something like that which was presented on a small temporary stage where the pair of M.C. stood. Their job was to stand there, describe the dress or the piece of jewelry, give it's little history, and start the bidding prize at it's lowest which was later brought up by the bidders. 

'Suze, what's so interesting about that book anyways?' Nate asked as he snatched it out of my hands and fumble with it's pages. 

'Give it back, Nate...' I said. You'll be surprise to hear me say that I'm not annoyed or irritated by Nate's actions. Well, that's because it's just so..._Nate_. So like what he would do when he has nothing else better to do. The girls from the table to our left all giggled as they saw the scene, obviously wanting to hit on Nate. I rolled my eyes as I noticed them. 

'How do you even read this thing? It's not even English...' he said as he continue flipping through the pages. 

'Nate...it's reverted, you idiot. And it is English. It's just the eighteenth centuries' Oldies' English...we've studied it before with Ms. Myles.' Ms. Myles is our sociology teacher in high school. She always said it was important to know everyone's style of language as to help improve the understanding of the communication made. Even the styles that weren't being used right now. 

'Oh,_oh_...! No need to tell me, I knew that.' he nodded his head seriously and added, 'I knew that...' I rolled my eyes as I attempted to snatch my book back. 

'Whatever...' Annie Rogers, another skater performing tonight, exclaimed, 'And to think that you're actually the smarty pants of us four...tsk-tsk-tsk...' she smirked. We knew her and her partner, Kevin Rogers whose her twin brother, since we were eleven. 

Just at that moment, the bidder's hammer (**A/N** I'm not sure if that's what it's called) announced the item 'Sold' to an old lady I recognized as Georgia de Silva. I looked at the screen to see how much was bided. _Wow_...you've gotta be kidding me. Three thousand US dollars! That's absurd. I looked at the item and saw that it was a very beautiful ice dancing dress that I saw on the net, one of Andrew Parkinson's work, _Diana_ (**A/N** It's the name of the dress; the dress does exist but not by this Andrew that I made up). 

White lace covering the upper bodice where nude mesh was inserted for support with gold mesh over the lycra mid-section and velvet back corset ties lined through the bare-back matched with a 3/4 length mesh sleeves with double ruffle plus white angle mesh skirt and contrasting underskirts. And believe me when I say that there are approximately 1,000 or more SS16 Crystal Swarovski rhinestones. 

It was a strapless dress where the female skater's shoulders where completely opened but covered with flesh-colored fabric used to facilitate the illusion, in spite of repeated attempts to ban clothing that gives the impression of 'excessive nudity' or that is otherwise inappropriate for athletic competition.

A dress that I don't mind having if it weren't so darned _expensive_. Georgia would obviously not fit in the streamlined costume due to her a little roundish bodice and besides, she in her late fifties. Why would she wear something like _that_ even if she did have the petite body to fit in it? I wonder who she's giving it to. Must be someone important. 

'Oh my God...' I whispered to myself as I clasped a hand over my mouth. 

'Yes...oh my _God_.' Asame whispered back. All the lady skaters including Francis, Margaret and Cassandra stared at it in wonder, all wanting the dress to themselves. It was certainly a beautifully tailored masterpiece. 

'Francis, time to go...' Sandy, a staff of the gala came and gave Francis a tap. The opening of the Ice Gala performance was performed by the three beautiful trainers. She stood up together with Margaret and Cassandra and clapped her hand twice softly as to not disturb the guest. 

'People, let's move...' I looked at my watch as Francis announced and stood up too. We only have about half an hour to get ready before we're up and going. We walked through the side towards the entrance of the stadium and I felt a stare eyeing me from my back. It wasn't disturbing but it's just a little uncomfortable. I looked back but none of the heads were turned to my direction. It must be my nerves getting at me. 

'Hey, you okay?' Nate asked softly as we walked into the stadium towards the Skater's Room. It's actually a changing room where all our stuff are kept before the show. 

'It's nothing...' but that's weird. I never get stage-frights. I've performed and competed in a stadium way bigger than this, holding in more audience than this. So why should the stupid stage-fright start now when all the time it's all that I do? Showcase my skating on stage, I mean. Penny immediately handed me my dress as I walked through the door and pushed me into the other side of the room where the ladies change. 

The room was separated by a wooden divider that had a huge black figure of a skater painted on it. I quickly took off my clothes as Penny pulled the thick cloth over the small changing space. Asame joined me after a while as I pulled up my kimono-style dress. Nate's one is a matching blue-lined sort of costume that you normally see in movies where the Samurais wear. 

The dress was covered with gorgeous imported Turquoise and black lace, in a Mulan style skating dress, The Obi was sewn together by matching turquoise satin with light green to match the vine pattern in the lace. I personally like the black trim with a little turquoise piping around the neckline that the bodice is fully lined with. The sleeves were opened width and long at the elbow which would look beautiful when I do a swirl. The dress is a flat panel cut at knee-length with small slits on both sides. 

Asame helped me with the Obi as she _is_ the Japanese here. All the ends and tails that I don't even know where to put, she finished it in three minutes. I took the whole of it to laugh at myself. Seriously, there's so many threads to pull and so many split ropes to tie it really is a whole lot of trouble, that's what it is. And at the same time, the crystals need to be taken care of so as to prevent it from coming off. 

'Alright. You're done...' Asame said with a smile after she finally finished. She step back to take a better look at me. '_Wow_...girl, you're hot.' Hey, I am, afterall, the main selling point here and quite a celebrity in the skating part of the world. I smiled at her comment. 

'Now go get your pretty face painted so we can get out of there and kick some riche butts.' Asame added with a laugh and pushed me out of the changing space so she could dress herself. 

After I came out, I was immediately pulled to my dressing table by Samantha and Mack to do my face painting and my hair and my make-up and my...whatever. I sat in front of the mirror with them blowing my hair, painting my face, pasting crystals on my nail and arguing with each other which hairspray would hold up my hair in it's place better. 

We wore our gel pads and skates steadily. After a whole fifty minute, after Asame and Annie and the others had all finished with their dressings, I finally came out from behind the divider and everyone stared at me in wonder. 

Nate let out a low whistle. 'Hey hottie...have a date tonight?' he asked as he offered me his hand. We all laughed. We heard a knock over the laughter and Sandy poked her head into the room from behind the door.

'You guys ready? You're up in five...' she said with a smile. Just before she closed the door, 'You people look awesome...' she added while winking at Nate. Did I mention that she's Nate's cousin? While I guess I didn't. Now you know. 

We went out in a group towards the back stage where we'll be called by the M.C. We joked and laughed all the way till we reached the entrance towards the rink where the three spectacular trainers were called forth and went out of the room. We all became quiet for a few seconds as the audience clapped. 

Soon after they all were called to the rink to perform they're routines, we sat alone at the armchair as they won't come back through the entrance here again. They would go out from the other side of the rink that leads straight to the Skater's room. 

'..._and now, ladies and gentlemen, after the fantastic performance by Annie and Kevin Rogers, put your hands together as we here welcome our all-time crowd's favorite : Susannah Simon and Nathan Hanks!'_ the M.C. skated out of the rink as quickly as possible after he announced us. 

I stood as the cheering and clapping was at it's loudest. Nate gave me an encouraging smile and I smiled back at him to tell him that I can handle this. We skated into the rink and took our positions in the middle as we waited for the music to blare. 

The clapping ceased as instrument-version of _Easy Breezy_ by Utada Hikaru rang through the speakers that Dole had rearranged throughout the whole of last month. It have a little hip-hop feel to it now but was all the same slow and easy to the ears. I personally liked the rhythm near the ending where I do the jump and lift. 

After we anchored ourselves with our ending post, the audience were a little too startled to react. Then, a whistle from somewhere started it all. They clapped for more than five minutes even after we left the rink. At that moment we were so proud of ourselves. 

'Suze, let's go...' Nate clung onto my waist and pulled me into the car where Asame, Annie, Kevin and Asame's partner, Mori was waiting for us. There is a celebration in a club house nearby as to celebrate the success of the gala. 

We arrived at the party shortly after the open ceremony ended. We stood near the pool where the drinks were served and we chatted. People were dancing and some were swimming in the pool. The ones invited where all the staff and the skaters and of course some of the sponsors were also invited. 

'Suze, Susie!' I froze as I heard my long abandoned nickname that only my mother calls. I knew at once who she is. It is Kelly Prescott, my roommate in Rennet Academy. She also goes to classes with us in the same building but she is a fashion student. I like her and everything but _how_ many times have I told her not to call me that! Seriously, this lady has no end to her nonsense. 

Nate, Asame, Annie and Kevin chuckled as they knew how much I hated it when people call me that. I glared at them and they immediately hide their faces from view. 

'Susie!' she clung onto my arm and shook it vigorously. Seeing my face, 'Oh...sorry. But it's just that I...oh, nevermind about that. Suze, look there!' she pointed towards the direction where the dance floor was, at a particular table beside the tall palm tree where the sponsors sat. 

'What? Am I suppose to see something?' I asked as Annie and Asame gathered round to see what Kelly was talking about. The guys went to sit down at a small table with Scott and Jason nearby, leaving us to ourselves. 

'Yes! Oh my God, _Suze_! Can't you see? That guy over there!' seeing where we were all looking at, she waved her hands in the air. 'No, no...not there! _There_!' she pointed again, this time at a pillar near the table where a bunch of girls were surrounding this guy in the middle. 

'See him? That's Paul Slater. His one of the sponsors son. Some Mr. Slater, I forgot his first name...he is _hot_.' she said in a dreamy voice while licking her lips, looking at him. I watched as the girl around him flirted with him as they all laughed at his joke or something. 

Suddenly, Asame's hand hit my arm continuously, each time harder than the last. I turned around to see that hers and Annie's eyes were fixed at someone walking towards the bar for a drink, which was about a few tables away from us. 'Now _he_ is way hotter than hot.' 

I looked at the guy that Asame eye's were fixed on. Even the not-so-interested-in-guys Annie looked at him with the love-at-first-sight look on her face. He is tall and by the looks of it, tanned and muscular. Most importantly, I saw a stud on his left ear as he turned around to face the pool, a glass in his hand. He is _so_ my type.

After a while, I saw Georgia sat beside him on another high chair and talked to him, laughing. Just then, I felt a tug at my shirt. It's Nate. 'Gotta go. Penny wants to introduce us to Georgia.' and left, pulling my hand along with him, leaving Asame and the other two standing there looking at their dream-boy, drooling. 

I was dragged closer and closer to the bar counter. A thought ran through my mind. One that is highly discomforting. What if...just what if? And...my what if just came true as Penny stopped right in front of Georgia de Silva, shaking her hand as the cheery old lady gestured towards the hottie that is _so_ my type.

'Georgia, this is Nathan Hanks...' Penny introduced as Nate shook Georgia's and the other guy's hand. 'Call me Nate.' he told them. Wind buzzing through my ears, I couldn't hear anything. My eyes were glued to him. Why am I so attracted? My gaze broke as Nate pushed me forward and Penny introduced me to Georgia. 

'And Georgia, this is Susannah Simon. Suze, Mrs. Georgia de Silva.' I smiled sweetly, leaving my distraction behind. If I'm gonna attract his attention the way he attracted mine, I gonna do it the right way. And the right way meaning : he's gonna go head over heels everytime his around me. I'm gonna make that happen.

'Oh, Susannah...you don't mind me calling you Suze like everybody else do you?' Georgia held my hand in hers. I shook my head and widen my smile that I know looks perfect with my dimple, 'No. I'm fine with it.' and Georgia smiled a little smile that gave me a feeling that she was hiding something. In a good way. 

'Suze, this is my grandson.' I turned my head and my eyes met his. HIs earring shone brightly towards me and I blinked. 

'Susannah. Nice name.' he held out his hand and I took it. He surprised me when he kissed the back of my palm after he shook my hand. 'Hector de Silva. You can call me Jesse.' he said as he looked into my eyes and I felt an electric bolt shimmering through my vines as his lips touched my skin. 

'Penny, why not we leave them youngsters alone and get some sandwiches from the counter over there?' Georgia said, and soon she took leave with Penny. 

'Suze, Dole's calling me over there.' Nate said as he flipped a strand behind my ear. I turned and look at him. He is _not_ thinking of leaving me alone with _him_, is he? No way. I'll suffocate. 'Jesse, it's very nice to meet you.' and Nate left after giving me a wink that he knew Jesse can't see from that angle. I rolled my eyes again slightly. 

'I heard that you're into sociology, aren't you?' Jesse asked as I sat down on the high stool that Georgia once sat. 

'Yeah. It's kindda fun.' I answered after I ordered my drink. I suddenly turned and looked at him. 'Let me guess. You're not planning on asking me about sociology all night like everybody else, are you?' he raised his left eyebrow. I noticed that there was a light scar across the top left side of it. 

'No...it's just to get you to talk about yourself. And who's the "everybody else"?' he asked as he made a pull at his drink. 

'As in all the people that just met me.' I answered as I thanked the bartender, taking my drink. 

'Example?'

'Erm...well, like Penny. When she first met me, she also started the conversation with your line.' he gestured me to continue. I nodded, thinking of someone else, 'There's also all the other skaters and some of my other friends from school and...' a tiny drop of water fell on my cheek and it started pouring immediately. 

He held my hand and pulled me inside to prevent me from getting wet. But he was a little too late. I am now soaked inside out and so was he. Oh, shit..._shit_! I wore a really thin shirt today and, moreover...oh my God! Someone pass me a towel!

'Told you it was gonna rain.' I heard Nate's voice from behind me and I turned around to see that he was right behind me. And worst of all, he wasn't looking at me. I mean he is but not meeting my eyes. He was eyeing my soaked shirt. 

'_Wow_...why is it that everytime you wear that bra and it'll rain for sure?' he asked, not looking away. Now everyone's turning to look at what he talking about. I felt Jesse's eyes on me too. I bit my lip and glared at him. 

'You didn't have to put it that way. Even if you have to, you didn't have to yell it out!' I snared at him. Nate just shrugged and smiled. 

'Suze? Susannah!' Dole squished himself through the crowd and reached us after a few seconds. He took a look at where everyone's looking and had the I-knew-it face that I hated. 

'Explains the rain...' and he handed me a towel. I wrapped myself in it immediately. 

'Wh_at_? I didn't know that Penny was gonna bring me this...' I explained, ashamed. They were talking about my dark-blue bra. This is embarrassing but everytime I wore it, it just seem to rain for hours later. 

'What are you all talking about?' Asame joined us and I saw Annie and the others behind her. They all crowded around me. Nate pointed at my chest covered by the towel. The group looked at me in unison. 

Seeing Asame's look, I know just exactly what she wanted to do. 'Sammy...don't even _think_about it.' I warned her as she continue eyeing my chest. She immediately reached out and I screamed. I ran and hid behind the person closest to me. Jesse. 

'Aw, common'...it's the blue bra, isn't it?' great. Do they want _everyone_ to know?

Jesse gulped. 'Blue _bra_?' he asked with difficulty. Asame nodded and attempted to grabbed my towel out of my grasp. 

'Asame, stop playing around...where's Suze?' I heard Penny's voice and immediately felt as if an angel had arrived to save me from all these. I held onto Jesse's arms from the back all the same, peeping out from behind him. 

'What are you doing there? You're scaring him, Suze...' Penny pulled me out from behind Jesse. I came out with a long face. 

'What?' Penny looked around as everyone giggled. After a second, her expression changed to a knowing face. 'Oh...the bra right? Don't be stupid. A bra can't cause rain.' she turned to me again. 'I brought you the blue one?' I nodded, looking at the side. 'Great. This is just great. You should have reminded me.' 

'How am I to remind you when I didn't even go home with you?' I asked. This is gonna be a long night. 'Nevermind about that. Let's go before you catch a cold.' Penny said and she pulled me out of the crowd into the car. 

This is _so_ the most embarrassing day of my life. 

**A/N** I know, I know the 'bra' part is really ridiculous. It sort of have some relevance with the last chapter. Plus, I thought it would be fun...well, please review! Hope you liked it. 


	3. March

**A/N** Phew...wrote this one on Friday, yep that's right, Good Fridays, right after I replied your reviews! Thank you so much for liking my story! I'm really wondering if the stud is gonna fit Jesse or not, so please review and tell me, okay? I think if there's no delay or anything, I should be updating every week, eventhough I don't know which day, but you know, just per chapter per week. Enjoy reading!

Take Note: Oh, and I changed the Texas Heat to Japan Heat cause I don't really have a lot of information on Texas. Remember this because if you don't, you'll be wondering why there are sakura in Texas. Lolz...

**Disclaimer** I know, I know...they're not mine and all but I really love them! So just don't sue me. I don't wanna wake up next morning and find a charge letter from Miss Meg all the way from US, suing me for using her characters...XD

Very Beautiful Indeed.

I hid the blue bra in the small compartment behind my dressing table and never took it out ever since. I really missed it. _What?_ A girl can't even miss her first C-cup bra?! I bought it myself too, from _Enchanted_ (**A/N** Just a name I thought up...kindda lame for a shop selling bras...but whatever). 

It costed me 350 bucks even after a 20 discount I got because I was recommended to being a member by Samantha. And just in case I didn't mention it to you, Samantha is a bra-craze-barbie. Half of her bras are even personal-designed and is one-and-only which you can't even find in the market. She even designed a room in her bedroom just for her bras. You cannot even start to imagine how much she has in that room. She can even open a boutique to sell them!

Well, anyways, enough of the bra thing. It really did bug me a lot since Jesse was also there. I went to Georgia's mansion last week and was told that he went to Japan to handle some of the stuff for Japan Heat there as Georgia's representative since she's starting to pass down her career to her grandson day by day. 

Jesse's two sisters, Josephina and Martha went with him too. Apparently, both of them are my fans. I was glad when I was told that we would be meeting up with Jesse in Nagano and celebrating his birthday with him, which is on the 12th of March, I almost jumped up from the armchair. 

Fortunately for me, I managed to suppress my excitement into a mere yelp inside of running around the room like a hooligan. But it was just as bad. They all looked at me as if I was a stray-dog or something. 

I'm currently waiting to board our plane to Nagano. And it was delayed for more than five hours already due to the imbalanced air pressure up there. The air system is really started to break down nowadays. All thanks to all the pollution we're creating.

'Isn't it time yet?' Nate asked for like the eight-thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight times since we sat down at the metal stool of the cafe. Penny shook her head. She glanced at her watch and answered glumly, 'About an hour more.' 

I grinned as Nate winced, looking at what I'm reading. 'Suze, really. Do you have to do this to me?' and he sighed loudly, chin rested on his palms. 

'Do what?' I asked, still reading my book. 

'_This!_ It's crazy! It's Japanese! Why are you reading it? Especially when I desperately need some conversation, _normal_ conversation, to prove to myself that I have yet to died from the boredom of this utmost unlucky day of our positions in the middle of this airport.' he raised his hand in a poetical way and exaggerated as he looked up at the high ceiling of the airport. 

'Very funny...' I answered as I turned the page of my favorite Japanese modern literature, _Yuki-guni (Snow Empire by Yuroshima Kaoru, 1954)_. It's a romance novel about the memoirs of a beautiful geisha from age one till age forty-two during the 16th centuries in Nagasaki, Japan. There's two men characters in this novel, first being her childhood sweetheart whose death she witnessed at her age of 15. 

Due to her mother's sickness, she went out to the world and found her first and last job ever : geisha. Last being the 20 year-old emperor when she was 17, whose falling for her had marked her first step into the imperial family of Japan as a beautiful empress. 

She didn't love him, of course, no matter how smart and powerful he was. Her heart was fully engulfed by the death of her sweetheart. But she gave up everything she had to protect him from being threatened, pulled down from his throne or being harmed in anyway possible. 

She had done everything she did for the handsome emperor out of responsibility. He treated her very good and sweetly but he knew that he could never get her heart. She gave him a heir to his throne in the second year of their marriage and, later on, three other beautiful princesses. 

She died in his arms, withdrawing her existence from the world after saving him from being stabbed by a vengeful prisoner that had betrayed their country, her blood stained the white land of snow. The emperor had committed suicide nine years later, after his failure in finding her replacement. 

'Is it really that good?' Dole asked as he sat down beside me, glancing into my novel. I nodded impatiently. I'm just getting to the part where her sweetheart is about to die and here they're bothering me. A whole bunch of mean-ies. 

'People, time to move...the planes' gonna fly soon...' Scott said to us right before they made an announcement that our plane is finally able to depart. I placed the bookmark at the page where I stopped and stuffed it into my hand-carry. Then we went to the gate where we're supposed to board the plane. 

After sitting in the plane for endless hours, we finally reached Nagano International Airport and retrieved our baggage. A van drove us to the hotel which was quite a distance away from the airport. By the time we've checked in, I already finished reading my novels. Luckily I brought another three of my favorites. 

I started unpacking my things and placed my novels on the side-table. I bathed and dressed for dinner right before Asame arrived and collapsed onto the bed. I was blowing my hair dry by then. 

'Yes!' she took a deep breath satisfyingly, 'I'm finally back in Japan!' and she laughed. I walked out of the bathroom and threw my wet towel on her face.

'Get dress already, Sammy, we're going for dinner.' I said cheerfully. Right after I finished, she threw the towel back at me and we rumbled around the room. After a few minutes, we heard the doorbell and the door clicked open a second later. 

'What in the world are you doing?!' Nate's voice came into hearing as we froze, pillows and towels galore in our hands and on the floor. Penny, Scott, Jason, Dole and Jesse ran in to see what Nate was yelling at. 'We're just...' I started with a chuckle. 

Wait a second, _Jesse?!_ Did I think wrongly? I glanced around the crowd in the short hallway or the hotel room. Nope. It's Jesse alright. 

I looked back at Asame and noticed her pointing at my shirt with a long face. I looked down and saw that a couple or my buttons was open from the top, revealing my dark-violet silk bra. Great. _What is it with me and bras anyways?!_ I almost fainted. 

And then I felt strong arms coming to my rescue and stopped me from falling. It also wrapped a black leather jacket around the front of my chest. I looked up and saw Nate smiling at me. He carried me into the bathroom, walking pass Penny and the others and kicked the door shut quietly. Putting me down, he quickly leaned back on the door and looked at me, still smiling. 

'Why do you always have the tendency to show off your bra in front of Jesse?' he asked after I handed his jacket and started buttoning my light lavender satin-blouse.

I looked up at him in horror. 'No, I do _not_...!'

'Do_to_!' he smiled again as we heard noises outside. They obviously had started cleaning up the mess Asame and I made. 'Suze, don't lie to me. I know it. You have something for him, don't you?' he said with an evil grin which always shows itself when he's up to no good. I just glared at him. 

'Is it his accent? His looks? His muscles? Or maybe his stud?' _it's everything of the above. There's even more that I could think of._ But of course I didn't say it out loud. Nate can keep a secret, don't get me wrong. And he knows me well enough to see that Jesse was really my cup of tea. But it's just that I feel very uncomfortable of confessing it. Just because I don't even know if it's a crush or not.

I mean, common'. I've just met the guy for three times, if you count this time in, four. How could you possibly fall for a person when you've only seen him for four times? 

'No...I refuse to any of your questions about Jesse.' I said strictly and finished the last button off. Nate shook his head. ' Whatever you say...' and he opened the door, leaving it open for me. 

I tossed and turned in bed that night, thinking about my conversation with Nate this evening. Asame was sound asleep in the single bed on the other side of the room. Annoyed and irritated with myself, I threw away the sheets and walked outside quietly. 

Jesse's POV

Laying in bed, I could barely close my eyes for a second without myself seeing the scene in Susannah's room earlier. Great. I barely got the scene at the clubhouse out of my head and now she gives me something else to think about. Which was just as distracting as the first. 

Not that I'm complaining. No, it's not that. It's just that whenever I'm alone since the first scene, I couldn't help myself but imagining what would happen if I lost control one day. All sorts of images shot through my mind, dirty ones. And I didn't really like myself for it. I'm not a pervert and Georgia along with my mother and sisters have been really worried that I was gay since I had never showed any interests in any opposite gender before. Well, maybe just my cats, Sierra and her 'hubby', Spike. 

I just can't clear my head of Susannah. Wow, wow, wow...am I falling in_love_?

I shook my head and stood up from bed, walking towards the balcony. I slidded the glass door back and felt the wind dancing pass me immediately. Closing the glass behind me, I rested my elbows on the railing and my chin on top of my knuckles. This sure is a great way to cool down. I closed my eyes and smiled, waiting for y head to clear before I went in again. 

Suddenly, I heard this humming tune and immediately thought of the one my mom and grandmother hums to me whenever they wanted to put me to sleep since I was a baby. And it was also the one that _I_ hum to my sisters to put _them_ to sleep. I looked around for the source of the humming. 

I was completely startled when I saw her figure standing at the balcony next to mine. She was standing quite far away so we didn't really notice each other in the first place. 

I stared at her petite figure and saw that she was only wearing a dark-purple, knee-length, thin silk robe. Her violet highlights of her long curls shone beautifully under the Nagano moon. I gulped after a few seconds of staring. She stood with her ankles crossed, her elbows rested on the railing and her head looking up at the moon, smiling all the time while humming the tune. 

Wait a minute, that shouldn't be right. It's our family tune, how does _she_know how it goes? There can't be a coincidence that huge, right? A breeze blew from my side to hers, as if wanting to bring me nearer to her. So I did. Go nearer, I mean. I then noticed that she had her eyes closed. She always have this expression whenever she skated. 

I've seen her practice and performing too many times to not be able to recognized this smile. She may not know me, but I've known her since she's thirteen. I followed Georgia to a performance that she sponsored for at that time and that was when I first met her. That night, she was wearing a very nicely fitted dark-blue costume due to the theme of the performance, _The Ocean. _Right after I went home that night, I requested for a dark-blue stud from William, my so-called 'nanny'. Accept that he's a _he_.

After that, I just sort of keep seeing her everywhere. At parties, at clubhouses, at rinks, at restaurants, in posters, in ads, everywhere. My sisters became fans of her due to my indirect influence of talking to them about her when they were still little babies. 

The breeze picked up her curls and invited it for a slow dance in the air, causing it to fly around in one direction behind her back. She is beautiful. Nathan really is a very, very lucky guy...I sighed as I smiled a little sad curve and went inside, sliding the glass door softly, not wanting to startled her and break her away from her wonderful fantasy. 

Susannah's POV

I slept very late yesterday and ended up having panda-eyes this morning when I went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. I just kept having this weird feeling yesterday in the balcony that I was being watched. I turned around just in time to see a dark-blue sparkle going through the door. 

Is it him? But why would he be out there in the middle of the night? I didn't dare ask anyone where his room as in case they mistook us for having feelings for each other, at least I do, as Nate clearly did yesterday. And I can't go up and ring the bell isn't it? What should I ask? 

_'I ran out of sugar, can I borrow a pack?' _or maybe, _'Were you the one in the balcony yesterday night? Were you staring at me?'_ neither would work. One too lame, another too idiotic. So how could I have known?

'Suze, are you okay? You don't look very good since you woke up just now...' Asame asked worriedly. I froze for a second then recovered. I even forgotten that she's here.

'I'm fine...' I told her softly, with a small smile. She nodded and clung onto my arm. 

'Susannah? You're not feeling well?' I heard the voice that I heard almost everytime I have a dream. I turned around and see Jesse walking towards us. He stopped in front of me as I shook my head lightly with a smile. He reached out and almost touched my forehead when we heard Nate's voice out of nowhere. Argh...that annoying giraffe! I'll kill him someday! 

'Suze, you're not feeling well?' he stopped beside me and placed a hand on my forehead without hesitation, not noticing Jesse, withdrawing his hand, embarrassed at what he almost did if Nate didn't come along. 

'Nate, I'm fine...' he looked really worried so I guess he deserved to be forgiven. 'Are you sure?' he asked as he frowned, using a finger to flip back my fringe from my eyes. 

'Yeah...just a little tired.' I said and he chuckled softly. 'Common', let's have breakfast before my pretty lady really fall sick.' he nodded at Asame and Jesse, hooking his arm around my waist to support me. It isn't really surprising since we are really close and relies on each other very much. No. Put it this way. We're very close and I rely on him very much. Yeah, that's right. 

When I turned around and Nate started talking about tomorrow, I didn't get to hear what Asame said to Jesse behind our backs. 'They look good together, don't they?' she asked Jesse and he nodded with a sad curve hanging low on his face which, of course, Asame would not and never have noticed. 

After I took down a piece of white bread, I couldn't eat anymore. So I went out the to the garden outside where the pools gave a very cheerful view of people swimming in it. I noticed that there were a lot of sakura trees planted here in this hotel yesterday. I really like sakura-rains. At least that's what I called it. 

'Susannah?' I heard Jesse's voice and turned around slowly. He was right behind me and he reached out both of his arms behind me. For a second there, I thought he was gonna hug me. But a second later, a piece of clothing settled onto my shoulder and I saw that it was my hooded dark-blue cardigan. 

'Penny asked me to bring it to you...' he said softly and looked over to where I was looking just now. I turned around to continue looking at the sakura. I pulled the cardigan tighter and titled my head a little, wishing that there's a sakura-rain right here, right now. I wanted to see it together with Jesse.

'Beautiful, aren't they?' I asked him about the flowers without looking back. And that's why I didn't know that when he answered, he wasn't looking at the flowers at all.

'Yeah,' he paused for a while. 'Very beautiful indeed.' and just as he said "beautiful", the petals started dropping and a soft breeze enveloped us with the pinkish sakura petals. I smiled. My wish came true. Thank you, kamikaze-sama. I guess I should thank _you_ instead of Jesus Christ since I'm now in Japan and you're the only Lord here with the power to give me my humble wish. 

**A/N** I was actually planning to write the details of the competition too, but there's not enough space or it'll be a very long chapter. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed reading your reviews!

Next chapter would probably be coming up next Saturday or Sunday, I'm not really sure. But please, stay tuned!


	4. April

**A/N** Okay, I know that I missed Saturday _and_ Sunday for the update but here it is...hey, you can't blame me because I was a little glued to Stephenie Meyer's _Twilight Series_ that I just bought on Friday night last week. I read through the whole weekend without doing anything else.

So, I guess all I'm saying is I'm really sorry. Yeah, that's that then. On with it.

**Disclaimer** I really serious am _not_ Meg Cabot so I really seriously do _not_ own _her_ characters. Ugh, seriously. I mean, common'. I'm never gonna be that good.

I'm engaged to _WHO?!_

It ended really badly. The farewell part after we had all the gold medals and compliments and cheering and applause and judges and the loud short program of my solo application and the time-crash between my long program and doubles with Nate. So on, so on, blah blah blah...I got over it all in all.

But the whole point is the airport session last month. My biggest problem yet. I still can't believe that it really happened to me. I mean, come on. How many times does a girl gets her first kiss? If I'm not _mistaken_, only that _once._ And so that _once_ I lost!

It's really absurd and it happened really fast that I didn't even see who it was at first. After I saw his eyes, I immediately knew that it was him. _Him_. Oh my God. It's not like I'm freaking out or anything, but whatever. I'm sitting right here next to Nate on the plane back to Carmel from Brazil and I'm still sulking that I lost my first kiss.

I played around with my fingers as I sat low on the cushioned seat with my lips pursed. Don't get me wrong. It's not that I didn't like the fact that I'd just been kissed _by_ Jesse square on the lips. But it's _Jesse_ that's bothering me since we sat up from the floor, staring at each other, not knowing what to do or what to say.

No one saw us because we collided as I walked out of the restroom in the lonely corner of the corridor beside the restaurant with no much guest there since it was only three o'clock in the morning.

This was how it went after he pushed away.

(_Normal POV_)

_'S-Susannah...' he dragged her name as if he couldn't really pronounce it that well eventhough he's basically been saying it over and over again in his head since the age of seventeen. It's just that he can't believe what was happening right now. _

_He stared at Suze with the most peculiar expression and she actually felt offended there for a second. What? Am I that unpleasant to kiss? That was what Suze thought the minute their eyes met._

_The kiss that Jesse's dreamed a thousand times every night in very different situations, it finally came true. But this was most certainly not how he imagined it to be their first. It sounds really wrong, and he knows it, but it really isn't just how he wanted to kiss her for the first time. What's he going to do right now? _

_'I...I'm really sorry...' he heard her say in a trembling voice and the next minute she left him there alone, running back to the restaurant. She didn't talk or even _look_ at him for a second after the episode. He felt really bad for what he did. Well, it wasn't his fault to blame, but if he hadn't come in such a rush...well, all Jesse can say right now, if he ever _can_ tell anyone, is that he had indirectly caused it. _

_Jesse didn't have a chance to say anything to her, even after the meal, since he had to leave for New York the second he stepped out of the restaurant with his assistant that Gabriel insisted on hiring, Joseph Pezelle. _

There. That was how I remembered it. I was really pissed at myself for apologizing after that. It's wasn't like it was her fault, was it? So why did she even bother to say sorry?

Just merely thinking about it nearly sent me begging for some way that I could show my anger towards my stupidity that I had bottled inside me for more than three weeks. The plane landed shortly after that. I know my chance of outburst is coming soon.

Once I stepped into the elevator that only Nate, Penny, Scott, Dole, Samantha and Mack were in, I took a deep breath, shut my eyes tightly, and screamed as loud as my throat managed to vibrate.

Which was, let me assure you, very loud. _Very._ Till everyone had to closed their eyes and look around transmitting their question with eye contact, "Which one of you, so desperately bored, pissed her off again?!"

When I finally stopped after two minutes of doing so, I felt relieve flowing through my veins with a slight sense of satisfaction.

I smiled widely as I took in breath harshly. The door opened automatically as it was announced to be the second floor of the parking lot. I walked straight through towards where the SUV was parked a couple of weeks ago when we've left for Japan.

_'WHAT?!'_ a whole string of Spanish exclamations came flowing out of my mouth in mere three seconds after I heard what Georgia just said. It was as if she's rehearsed this for more than a thousand times before I've returned.

'Jesse, dear.' Georgia said patiently with a smile on her face in her heavy Spanish accent. 'You didn't hear me wrong. I've just contacted her grandmother two days ago and we've agreed that it's time we started the preparations.' she paused again to take a sip of wine from the glass in her hand.

'Don't pretend that you don't want it, Jesse. I've noticed that you've had a huge...fondness of her since forever ago!' Martha, one of Jesse's sisters, teased with a huge grin as she saw her brother's face.

'Martha...' Josephina shot her a warning look and she pulled a long face, shutting up immediately.

'B-But...' Jesse hesitated for a while before he continued. 'I don't even know what she thinks of me after...' what happened in the airport yesterday. He continued the rest of the sentence in his mind. He blinked to erase the image of her pretty face, shocked, a few inches away from his just about twenty-one hours ago.

His incomplete sentence triggered the excitement in Martha again and she started babbling. 'After _what_?! Jesse, tell us! Did you do something to her? Did you hug her? Kiss her? Or...' she gasped all of a sudden. 'Don't tell me. You guys...'

'_Martha_.' it was Georgia's turn to shoot a dirty look at her grandchild now.

She shrugged. 'Sorry, just curious. Aren't you, Granny G?' she asked in a casual and informal tone. It's not like she didn't know how Georgia didn't like to be addressed in such a way that Martha just did.

But Georgia knew better than to get distracted right now. She turned back to look warily at Jesse again. 'Jesse, my dear Jesse. You're of age now. And you know that your grandfather's will clearly stated that you're to fulfill the condition on the contract before you inherit the company.'

Jesse frowned as he remembered the line of the will as it stated all three conditions he have to meet before he inherits the family buisness.

1. Mr. de Silva has to be of age 21 before he inherits any rights to all the property under the family name.

2. Mr. de Silva has to graduate with full distinction from the university that he would be studying in.

3. Mr. de Silva has to be engaged to a female candidate agreed by Mrs. Georgia de Silva before any papers could be signed for arrangements made for the family buisness.

How could he ever forget. He was so shocked that he hadn't spoken for a few minutes after he the lawyer read the will publicly in the living hall of the family mansion where Georgia lived with his grandfather.

'Hello? Suze speaking.' I answered the phone as I flipped through the pages of the April sports magazine. I stopped at the article where it reported my victory of first place in my solo application in Japan Heat. There was a huge picture of my holding up the golden shiny cup in the air with a toothy smile.

'Suzie? It's Granny here.' I straightened immediately with joy. It's been a long time since I talked to Granny. I remembered the last time was at the Christmas party she threw every year in her mansion on the banks of Victoria Island, Canada.

'Granny! Oh, I've missed you so much!' the familiar dry laughter of the beautiful old lady warmed my heart and almost brought tears to my eyes.

'Yes, yes. So I've heard.' she was obviously talking about Jake and his big mouth. I always complained to him, through the phone line, that the food all around the world are all shit compared to what Granny feeds us with since we were young.

The four of us used to live with her in Victoria's since we were born. Our mom had to fly around due to her journalist job and dad...ah, well, just say that it's _dads, _had their own stuff to do.

'Congragulations, my angel, I've heard from Stephanie that you've won your programs in Japan with high scores.' it's weird, hearing Penny being called Stephanie all of a sudden and I winced, suppressing my urge to laugh.

'Thank you Granny! What color is the scarf this time?' I asked with interest. Granny always knitted long, and I mean _really_ long, scarves for me and gives me one every time I win a competition. So far, I've got fifty-three different colored long scarves from Granny and I loved all of them. They are beautiful.

'You'll have to see for yourself this time.' she said in a voice that had a slight sense of hidden sadness. I panicked as I heard her voice trembling as if she was crying.

'Granny, what's wrong? Did something happen?' I asked as I sat up straight, knowing it has to be something serious. If not she wouldn't have called ninety-thousand miles away just to congratulate me on winning.

'It's nothing, Suzie.' I caught a soft suppressed sniff from the other end of the line.

'Granny, when you say I'll see for myself, does that mean you'll be coming soon?' I asked carefully, fingers crossed.

'Yes, my angel. I'm going over to your moms place this weekend.' she paused uneasily for a while as I waited for her to continue. 'Angel, my Susie, I think it's time your grandfather and I tell you something very important, sweetheart.'

'You see, from a very long time ago, your grandfather and I made a promise with this couple, Daniel and Georgia, that we would be willing to marry our first daughter to their first son.

'But, Susie, you know that I've only managed your father at the age of twenty-nine and it stopped there didn't it. They had their first son too. As a matter of fact, they had five sons. None of us had daughters.' she paused again, as if giving me time to catch up with what she said.

I think I'm beginning to see where this is all heading.

'So, we've agreed to leave the promise till next generation. And now, he's of age and ready to get engaged. Georgia contacted me a couple of days ago, and we've both came to the conclusion that it's time we start fulfilling the promise.'

My mind went blank all of a sudden. 'But I'm underage!' I yelled softly into the phone, wrapping it together with both of my arms, afraid that I would miss what Granny says next.

'I know. That's what I said, my angel, and that's why we've decided on an engagement.' my thinking system automatically shut down without a warning. I stared into blank space as the phone slipped through my lose grip and fell onto the bed with a 'thump'.

This is _so_ not happening to me. Right?

I gasped as I suddenly thought of something. I picked up the phone again immediately and asked what I really wanted to know.

'Granny...' I asked as my voice continued trembling. 'W-Who exactly am I...engaged to?' I choked out the word 'engaged' with huge difficulty.

'Oh, Susie. How could I have missed such an important point?' she paused for a while again to catch her shaky breath. I know she's crying. I swallowed hard as I waited for her answer.

'According to Georgia, his name is Hector de Silva. He just turned twenty-one in the beginning of the month.'

'I'm engaged to _WHO?!' _I yelled so loud that I'm almost certain that I've punctured Granny's eardrums. But I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. Someone, _anyone_, please tell me I'm dreaming. How could there be such a coincidence? And of all people, why is it happening to _me?!_

'Sweetheart, my darling angel, you're engaged to Hector de Silva.' Granny's shaky answer and confirmed once more that I was not dreaming.

'_The_ de Silva_?' _I asked weakly, stunned.

'Yes, Susie. _The _de Silva.' Granny answered as she muffled a sob on her pillow or something. I couldn't think straight. Are they joking? I was half expecting that Granny would suddenly say, 'Hah! Gotcha!' or something.

But judging by the tears and sobs and all, I didn't think that that was gonna happen anytime soon. In fact, it's not gonna happen at all.

'Oh my God...' I said after a while. It was all I could manage. And yes. I was damn right. _Oh my God._

**A/N** Well, how did you like that? I know this chapter is very much shorter but bear with me, it's all I could manage. Sorry again for the late update. Oh, and there's another thing. I changed my mind about them being _different_ from the normal because it really can't seem to fit in anywhere in the plot.

So for those who was expecting something like they read minds or can pick up a ten-thousand pound weight with a single pinky or something, sorry to disappoint you but this is not the story you're looking for then.

I hope you like it and please do review. I would be more than grateful to accept anything you say. Even criticism.


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